'Unbelievable' - commuter shares his frustration as the Harbour Bridge is closed due to high winds on Tuesday morning.
Video / Paolo Vasori
If you're an Auckland commuter, rely on the harbour bridge, and know any good weather dancers, the next fortnight is the time to get them to strut their stuff.
Work is set to take place overnight on Saturday to install a permanent 22.7m beam, with loads to be tested next week before reopening.
Traffic authorities were forced to close the bridge just before 7am yesterday due to strong winds. It remained closed for around an hour and congestion mayhem ensued.
Meanwhile, a company director told the Herald the closure, which trapped some of its employees in dead traffic, cost them thousands of dollars.
The damaged strut on the Auckland Harbour Bridge after power winds toppled over a truck. Photo / Dean Purcell
Auckland traffic data, collected by the AA, shows motorists faced a one hour 40-minute drive from Albany to the CBD just before the bridge closed.
By comparison, the same journey on the Northern Motorway on Monday peaked at 35 minutes just before 7am.
Traffic started to build from around 5.30am on the motorway and by 6.30am the journey from Albany to the CBD was taking just over an hour.
The trip only took 30 minutes at the same time on Monday.
In the opposite direction, the drive on the alternative route on the Northwestern Motorway between the CBD and Albany took one hour 10 minutes at 8am.
Traffic authorities had been limiting the number of lanes open, which started at three in both directions, as the wind picked up yesterday morning.
The bridge was reduced to one lane heading into the city around 6.30am, before the call was made to close State Highway 1 entirely just before 7am.
MetService reported wind gusts on the bridge at that time had reached up to 98km/h.
A new 22.7m strut, which will be a permanent load-bearing fix for the bridge, will be installed overnight this Saturday, all going to plan.
Waka Kotahi NZTA transport services general manager Brett Gliddon says the installation is just the first step in a "multi-staged process".
If the weather is too sketchy for work to go ahead on Saturday, the installation will take place on the next available fine night.
The second, and most challenging step, will take place off-site and involves in-depth calculations to confirm what's required to put tension back into the bridge.
"Engineers need to reinstate the load-carrying capacity of the bridge, which will involve it being jacked to the required level so tension can be redistributed throughout the structure allowing all lanes to reopen with the new bridge strut in place," Gliddon said.
"This jacking process is another complex procedure which will require another overnight closure.
"We're extremely pleased with the progress to get us to this point, we know the lane closures on the harbour bridge are causing frustration and we're working as hard as we can to reopen the bridge as soon as possible."
A truck which toppled over in winds of up to 127km/h on September 18 damaged a strut on the bridge and has created congestion mayhem around the city.
There was no traffic coming into the CBD from the Northern Motorway at rush hour on Tuesday morning. Photo / Michael Craig
A temporary fix was put in place, which allows three lanes to reopen in each direction, but the bridge is still vulnerable to strong winds.
Traffic authorities had been reporting since the weekend if wind gusts exceeded 80km/h they would close the bridge.
Members of the public are urged to use public transport where possible to avoid congestion. Those who need to drive should allow for extra time on their journeys.
OutSource IT's managing director Philip Adamson believes he was the last motorist to get over the bridge from the North Shore before it closed.
He said it was windy but it was "nothing outrageous" but he wouldn't have wanted to be on a motorbike.
Their company, which is based in Auckland's CBD, effectively lost half a day of business following the closure.
Auckland Harbour Bridge closed at rush hour due to high winds. Photo / Michael Craig
Meeting clients in person is the preferred method for the company, however, and sudden closures without notice created nothing but headaches.
"It's too late, people are already in the traffic ... and [the authorities] could have some sensible policies around it," Adamson said.
"If they just stopped trucks and buses and let cars go through and do some actual traffic management, you don't need to destroy business.
"The cost of having four North Shore people out of work for a half-day and a couple of people from the south coming in late, you're talking thousands of dollars."
MetService forecaster Sonja Farmer said the wind gusts, which reached 98km/h at their peak, had eased to 40km/h yesterday afternoon.
Light winds were expected for the rest of the week, Farmer said.
